Already at the age of six, I had a
diploma for being an acolyte. I was the youngest of
the group. One day, while serving Mass, and looking at
the parish priest wearing purple vestments, the words spontaneously came
to me: “One day I will also wear those purple
vestments.” They are the thoughts of a six year old,
which no one gives much importance to, but what is
certain is that very soon I hope to celebrate my
first Mass wearing purple vestments.

My mother’s prayers

I had the
grace of being confirmed when I was twelve by Bishop
Antonio Mistrorigo, the bishop of my dioceses (Treviso), a wonderful
and profoundly spiritual bishop. When the ceremony had finished, we
were preparing for a group picture and by chance I
overheard a conversation between the bishop and the parish priest.
“Your Excellency, we have a mother here who is praying
that her son becomes a priest; what do you think
about that?

The Bishop responded, “Remember, God always hears the
prayers of a mother. Have you read the story of
Monica, St. Agustin’s mother? How many prayers and tears shed
by this woman for the conversion of her son and
history tells us God gave her this grace.”

Eight years a
Boy Scout

I think being a Boy Scout for eight years
in my parish, Maria Asunta, in Paderno de Ponzano, Veneto,
prepared me for living in a community of religious life.
Years of fun and games, human and spiritual formation, learning
to appreciate the beauty of nature and creation, and to
help and respect others. The scout law is beautiful, and
if it is lived well, the boy or adolescent becomes
more responsible on his way to maturity. For me, the
most valuable lesson of these eight years was esprit de
corps, working together for a common end and being able
to renounce one’s own interest for the good of the
group and others. In a word: generosity, a virtue necessary
for religious life.

A conversion in my family

When someone is born
in a Catholic family, sometimes they don’t realize what a
grace it is. My family has always been very Catholic,
but when I was an adolescent, God permitted an experience
of the action of grace in the soul of someone
very close to me. When my mom’s brother died, my
father stopped going to Mass. According to him, God was
unjust to let a young man, twenty-three, die of cancer.

Ten years later, my mom became pregnant with her fourth
child. The moment of birth arrived, and things just got
more complicated. My little sister was on the point of
dying and so my father turned to the Blessed Virgin
for help: “If you save her, I promise I will
go to Confession and receive Communion.” My sister was born
in July 1987, and my father went to Confession and
received Communion on the 8th of December, the feast of
the Immaculate Conception, with in the Marian year proclaimed by

John Paul II. I remember on arriving home, my father,
very happy, gave us the news. I ran to tell
my mom it was a miracle. It was in this
moment that I heard something from my mother that was
written in my heart and mind for the rest of
my life. She told me, “Massimiliano, I offered God my
life for the conversion of my husband.”

Giving yourself to others
fills you with joy

“There is more joy in giving than
receiving.” In 1994 the moment arrived to choose between military
or substitute social service. I chose the second. I spent
a whole year working with special needs boys and girls.
The first day was difficult; I had no idea how
to deal with them. Fear and human respect were winning
against generosity.

As time passed, I started to realize they did
not need anything special, just attention and affection. Now human
respect and fear were giving way to generosity. On the
last day we organized a going away party, and it
was difficult to hold back the tears! The following day,
at home, the names of the kids were coming spontaneously
to my mind: “Marcos, Dory, Adriano…” And with the names,
this phrase spontaneously came to me: “There is more joy
in giving than in receiving.”

A preaching Mexican priest

Being part of
a Marian prayer group is something for which I will
always give thanks to God. I was also part of
the choir, because I knew how to play the guitar
and the bass. One night in one of our meetings,
after the Gospel, the homily began. It was a new
voice. I never really paid much attention to the homilies,
but that time I did. He started like this: “I
am a Mexican missionary priest here in Italy.” A Mexican
missionary priest in Italy… who would even think of saying
this? The homily continued in perfect Italian and was perfect
in its content. This Mexican missionary priest, so straightforward, was
winning my friendship. Who would have ever thought that the
Lord would have used this priest, a missionary in Italy,
to invite me to take part in a vocational discernment
course of the Legionaries of Christ.

Ronaldo and the “normal” seminarian

For me the word “seminarian” was a synonym for a
person very spiritual on the one hand and very well
educated on the other, but not in the realities of
the world, like sports. Sports completely captivated my attention, and
all my friends and I ever talked about was soccer.

One time, the Mexican priest arrived with a Legionary seminarian
from Spain. Once our prayer meeting finished we started talking.
All of a sudden the seminarian started to talk about
an Italian team buying Ronaldo, which happened to be my
team! Then I asked him his opinion on the matter,
since he was for the team selling Ronaldo. I was
surprised; and my prejudices about seminarians were destroyed. My conclusion
was: this seminarian is normal.

Marriage or priesthood

It is not easy
to discern your life and vocation when things are not
clear. In 1996, two friends just died, I could not
stand my work and the business I worked for, I
had no car, no stable group of friends and the
girl I was trying to get found another boyfriend. When
a priest invited me to come to a vocational discernment
course, I said no.

That summer, I made a pilgrimage to
Medjugorje. The train was full of young people who wanted
a new experience. I came back happy. I saw an
“invisible hand” fixing everything. I met many friendly people, I
started another job, my work was much more fulfilling, a
new car finally came, and I started to go out
with a girl. Humanly speaking, I had everything, but on
the inside I felt a constant emptiness. God was telling
me: “Now you have everything you want and now you
realize that this is not what is important; you will
not find happiness here but in the full realization of
your vocation.”

A second discernment course invitation arrived by the Mexican
priest: “Massimilliano, look to the future: are you sure marriage
will fulfill you as a man and a Christian? If
you do not have this clear on the inside, than
I would purpose a program for discernment.” I had many
reasons to again say no, but I said yes, and
with this began a marvelous adventure in the Legion.

Mary

I am
convinced it is Mary, the mother who was and still
is present in my whole life, who gave me the
grace of the vocation and the graces I continually need.
I was baptized on October 13, the day of the
last apparition of the Blessed Virgin in Fatima. I received
my first Holy Communion in May, the month dedicated to
the Most Holy Virgin. I received the call to the
religious life on August 15, the dedication of the basilica
of St. Mary Major in Rome, the first Christian basilica
dedicated to Mary.

In this same basilica, God willing, I will
celebrate my first Mass, and being Advent, celebrate it with
purple vestments. I will leave in her hands the fruit
of my priestly ministry, because the life of a priest
totally consecrated to her can not remain sterile.

Father Massimiliano Zago
was born in Treviso (Italy), September 1, 1974. He finished
school in the Tequnical Instutue Max Planck de Lancenigo (Treviso).
On September 15 of 1997, he entered the novitiate of
the Legion of Christ in Gozzano (Italy). He did his
Humanistic studies in Salamanca (Spain). He worked for three years
in youth ministry and the promotion of vocations in the
north of Italy (Movara). He has a Master’s degree in
Philosophy and a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the Pontifical
Regina Apostolorum College. Presently, he works in youth ministry and
the promotion of vocations in the northeast of Italy (Padua).